For enrollment professionals, January can feel like the longest month of the year. You are rescheduling visits canceled due to December’s winter weather, testing applicants and simultaneously preparing for re-enrollment with your current families. It is a demanding stretch that leaves little room to catch your breath.
It’s critical, though, not to lose sight of the goal. Applicants and their families are waiting for decisions, not just from your school, but likely from several others as well. The relationships and momentum you built in the fall still matter. How you nurture your prospective families now can make a significant difference in your enrollment yield.
Below are a few strategies to focus on during January and February to stay connected, engaged and positioned for a strong enrollment outcome.
Reenrollment: Focus on What You Can Control
By this point in the year, current families who are not planning to re-enroll have likely already made that decision. In most cases, the window to address potential attrition has passed. The most effective reenrollment and retention work happens in the fall, not during decision season. If you are looking to strengthen this process in the future, revisit our Retention Blog Series, Parts 1 and 2 to ensure you lay the groundwork earlier in the year.
What you can do in these months, if current families do choose to leave, is to have a clear exit-interview strategy to talk with them personally to learn why they made their decision. Express your appreciation for having them as part of your community and talk about what the school can do to help their child finish strong. Taking the time to listen and learn with authenticity and humility goes a long way.
Keep Applicants Engaged and Connected
Families want to feel seen, valued and connected to your school, especially while they wait for decisions. January and February are ideal months to reinforce those connections. Consider offering meaningful opportunities for engagement:
- Host a morning coffee for applicant parents with administrators, allowing for informal, in-depth conversations with school leadership.
- Invite applicants to age-appropriate school events. Performances, concerts, athletic events or even a band rehearsal can help applicants and families envision themselves as part of your community.
- Bring the school closer to home. If you are hoping to enroll families from a specific geographic area, host a small gathering at the home of a current family in that region. Include brief remarks from your Head of School and have other key leaders and current parents from the area present to answer questions.
- Offer a second shadow visit to students who want another chance to experience a day in your school.
Leverage the Power of Your Current Families
Your current parents and students are your most effective ambassadors. If you have an ambassador program in place, now is the time to use it.
- Invite current parents to connect by phone with select prospective families to answer questions and share firsthand experiences. Pair parents based on children’s interests and activities, where they live or by shared feeder school. Phone calls in addition to email are most helpful and are the best way to create community.
- Reshare blog posts or interviews that highlight parent and student voices. Did a local magazine or paper recently highlight your school, your head of school or a particular program? Now is a great time to share this again.
- Use social media to spotlight quotes, testimonials and stories from your community. Since applicant families are likely following you, balance these posts with statistics that remind viewers of your strengths, academic outcomes, athletic championships, AP offerings, arts programs and other distinguishing metrics.
Once Decisions Are Released, Communicate Clearly and Thoughtfully
After decisions are sent, communication becomes even more important.
- Keep accepted families informed about return visits, accepted student events, deposit deadlines and next steps, so they feel supported and confident moving forward. Think like an accepted family. What information do they need? Include in the acceptance letter a printed calendar of all Accepted Events with details and a link to a non-public webpage of the calendar. What other information does your school have that might be helpful? If you just published your winter issue of your school magazine and prospective families did not receive it, include a copy.
- Prepare in advance for difficult conversations with families whose children were not accepted. Always return calls and emails and approach these discussions with empathy and professionalism. Even when families are disappointed, they should walk away feeling respected and valued.
- Be honest and realistic when discussing the waitlist or additional financial aid requests. Clear, transparent communication builds trust even when the answer is not what families hoped for.
A few years ago, Niche asked K-12 enrollment experts around the country for their tips on what to do right now. Their advice remains spot on.
January and February may be demanding, but with thoughtful engagement, clear communication, and a focus on relationships, schools can turn decision season into an opportunity to strengthen trust and improve enrollment outcomes.
Need expert enrollment advice? Let’s talk.
